"It's quite different at the start of the year. We were just trying to improve our performance and we weren't spoken about like we have been the last week or two," Seibold said.

"The group here is a level-headed group, we have a level-headed coaching staff, we're trying to focus on our next job.

"We're not getting ahead of ourselves but I understand when you win there's expectation or external noise that you need to deal with."

Most pleasing is the way they appear to be navigating the representative period. After Origin players Angus Crichton, Damien Cook, Dane Gagai and Greg Inglis missed their win over Cronulla, they were rested against the Gold Coast last week but the Rabbitohs still had enough grit to grind out an 18-16 victory.

The last-placed Eels are coming off a promising win over North Queensland - their first after five straight losses - but are being forced to back up on a five-day turnaround and a return trip from Darwin.

"There's not a lot we can do, we've just had the one training session, keep things nice and simple," Eels coach Brad Arthur said.

"We've recovered well after the flight. We got the red eye back to get and have an extra day in Sydney.